


Unmasked

by Clavally



Series: White Collar in Winter [1]
Category: White Collar
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Halloween
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-10
Updated: 2013-09-10
Packaged: 2017-12-26 06:02:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/962456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clavally/pseuds/Clavally
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neal and Mozzie spend Halloween with the Burkes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unmasked

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the Ten in Ten challenge. All my thanks to my wonderful beta, Kisahawklin. This story wouldn't be half as good without her.

When Neal lets himself in, he almost trips over Satchmo who’s come to greet him. He has to do a dance to keep from dropping the bottle of wine he brought or stepping on the dog.

“Nice moves,” says Peter, who smirks at him from the couch. 

Neal grins back at him and says, “Thanks, I learned it from a duchess in Belgium.” He’s rewarded with one of Peter’s exasperated looks and a shake of his head, which makes Neal even happier. Half the fun of telling Peter anything about his past is watching him try to work out what’s true and what’s an exaggeration.

Neal goes to find Elizabeth in the kitchen before Peter can ruin the moment by asking for more details. 

“Elizabeth,” says Neal, “dinner smells wonderful.” It does, too. There’s a large pot of something bubbling away on the stove and there’s a heavenly smell of freshly baked bread in the air. 

“Hey, Neal,” Elizabeth says and takes the bottle of wine from him before giving him a kiss on the cheek. 

“Anything I can do to help?” He asks her.

“You and Peter can make yourselves useful by setting the table” She says. 

Mozzie arrives a few minutes later while Neal and Peter are setting the table. A cold burst of air and few dead leaves follow him inside and Peter looks at El in disbelief. “You invited Mozzie?” She gives him a guilty shrug. Mozzie hasn’t noticed any of this. He’s too busy squawking in indignation that he’s the only one who bothered wearing a costume. 

“Come on, Mozz,” says Neal. “You’re wearing devil horns.”

Mozzie crosses his arms and says, “It’s more of an effort than some people made.”

“Oh, I’m wearing a costume,” says Neal. Mozzie looks confused for a second before going, “Ah” and they both say, “Con man” at the same time. “That’s a little too on the nose, don’t you think?”

“Go with what you know,” says Neal.

“No, see, that’s the exact opposite of what you should be doing on Halloween,” says Mozzie.

Peter appears at their side and gives them each a glass of wine. “Enough,” he says. “Have some wine and agree to disagree.”

“Fair enough,” says Mozzie, and raises his glass to Neal. “Salut.”

In the kitchen, Elizabeth pulls down an over-sized bowl and pours three bags of fun-sized candy into it. She gives it to Neal and he puts it by the door, making sure the porch light is on. Out the window he can see it’s finally dark outside and there are a few kids making their way from house to house across the street.

Elizabeth calls them to the table where she serves them some of that wonderful smelling stew. Neal takes a bite and asks, “Beef Bourguignon?” She tells him it is, giving him a huge smile. There is also a tossed salad and crusty sourdough rolls that are still warm when Neal breaks one in half.

They take turns getting up to answer the door and hand out candy. Neal hands out candy to three princesses, five superheroes (a mix of boys and girls), two video game characters, six monsters of various ilk, and a baby pumpkin. 

The dinner conversation stays light and flits from topic to topic. Peter tells them some funny stories from when he was a brand new agent which leads to Mozzie talking about an alleged thief he knew back in Detroit and the many ways he tried and failed to steal things. Neal and Elizabeth discuss some new gallery openings and Peter tells them a few tales from his days in the minor leagues. Not for the first time does Neal think how strange it is that he’s enjoying an evening of dinner and wine in the house of the man who put him in prison and how much at home he feels.

After dinner Mozzie helps Elizabeth clear the table and Neal goes with Peter to walk Satchmo. Outside the last of the trick-or-treaters walk past them with their bags full and their costumes in varying states of disrepair from the long evening’s trek. 

It’s funny to Neal how autumn smells the same no matter where he is. It’s all damp leaves and woodsmoke and a cold bite to remind you that winter is just around the corner. 

Two blocks into their walk they stop when they see a small mummy sitting on the sidewalk with tears running down her face. Neal crouches down and, through a series of questions she answers with nods and shakes of her head, determines that she was pushed down and got separated from her group. Neal stays with her while Peter goes to find her parents and by the time they return he has her smiling again. Her parents thank them and Neal gives the little girl his best smile as she waves at him over her mom’s shoulder.

Peter clamps a hand on Neal’s shoulder and says, “You did good.” Neal turns his head, ready to make a joke, but the smile on Peter’s face has so much pride and affection Neal feels his whole world tilt in the oddest way and he almost misses a step.

Peter raises his eyebrows and says, “Another duchess dance move?”

“Guess I had too much to drink with dinner.”

Peter gives his shoulder another squeeze before letting go and says, “Come on, let’s get you back to the house. You can sober up while we watch the movie.”

“You’re the boss,” says Neal. 

"Yes, I am," says Peter, but Neal can see that Peter doesn't think of him as only a work assignment anymore. He may get frustrated with Neal's antics, but there's also genuine care and concern. 

They walk back in companionable silence, but Neal’s mind is far from quiet. He feels warm and light and absurdly happy. For months Neal has made an effort to make decisions that would earn Peter’s trust and make him proud, even if Peter never knew about some of them. 

It hadn’t occurred to Neal that his efforts might have worked.

Mozzie is gone by the time they get back to the house and Elizabeth is curled up on the couch under a flannel blanket. Neal is suddenly unsure if he should stay. The scene looks a little too intimate and he doesn’t want to intrude in spite of his recent epiphany. Before he can make his excuses Peter falls onto the couch and pulls Neal down with him. They watch some old movie that they mostly end up talking over. When Neal makes a bad joke, Peter bops him on the back of the head and Neal grins and has to keep himself from making more bad jokes. Neal is happier than he can remember being in a long time.

Peter walks him to the door, telling him to be safe on his way home and not to steal anything. Neal sees it again, the hint of concern and affection buried underneath the teasing and he feels giddy with it. Neal assures him if he does steal anything he’ll make sure Peter never has to hear about it and Peter smiles at the joke. 

They say their goodbyes and as Neal walks home he thinks Halloween might end up being his new favorite holiday.


End file.
